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Installing an airport in FSX... When GEX+UTX are already installed.

There are a few upgraded airports that are freeware like the one for Banff. It's to put the airport in the right location as it's wrong in FSX (wrong side of highway). It's just a bgl file or whatever it's called and it says to put it in my scenery folder?

I am leary as I just got FSX gold+UTX Canada+GEX all up and running great and I don't want to mess those up. Can I or should I just do as the readme says and copy it in there? Will it mess up the nice job UTC and GEX did of that area?

Prior to my UTX+GEX upgrades when I was running stock FSX gold, I had deployed this file per the instructions and it worked and the new airport looked right and was in the right location however it never showed up in the scenery library screen so I don't think I can mess with it in priorities. But it did work.

Advice appreciated here. Just being carefull not to blow up a good GEX+UTX setup.

It contains several tutorials I wrote about scenery management in FSX. The answer to your question depends on whether the "airport" you are adding is a single .bgl file, or an "airport package" that has both a scenery and texture subfolder (and possibly one or more other folders). Note that BOTH of these types of airport addons nowadays can be called "AFCADs". The use of the term "AFCAD" today is very misleading, as the new "AFCAD" programs available actually are full-fledged airport scenery design programs that can include buildings and other FSX "scenery" items.

NEVER add ANYTHING to the default FSX Addon Scenery\Scenery and Addon Scenery\Texture folders, REGARDLESS of what the author's instructions tell you to do. If you do that with more than one addon, eventually you are going to mess up your FSX. The airport addon you referenced above wouldn't mess up FSX as far as your GEX or UTX is concerned, but it can mess FSX up in several other ways once you start adding other "airports" like it (read my tutorials for those ways). You need to learn how to use the FSX Scenery Library more effectively than just "dumping" addons into the default Addon Scenery\Scenery and Addon Scenery\Texture folders, or you are going to end up with a huge mess.

It contains several tutorials I wrote about scenery management in FSX. The answer to your question depends on whether the "airport" you are adding is a single .bgl file, or an "airport package" that has both a scenery and texture subfolder (and possibly one or more other folders). Note that BOTH of these types of airport addons nowadays can be called "AFCADs". The use of the term "AFCAD" today is very misleading, as the new "AFCAD" programs available actually are full-fledged airport scenery design programs that can include buildings and other FSX "scenery" items.

NEVER add ANYTHING to the default FSX Addon Scenery\Scenery and Addon Scenery\Texture folders, REGARDLESS of what the author's instructions tell you to do. If you do that with more than one addon, eventually you are going to mess up your FSX.

FaolconAF

Thank you so much!

Did I do this right?

I created a folder called C:\My FSX Scenery

In there I put a Scenery folder as well. Now it's c:\My FSX Scenery\scenery

In there is the CYBA.BGL file I downloaded from here and that is the Banff Scenery.

I went into Scenery Library and did the ADD AREA thing and browsed to it and added that C:\My FSX Scenery folder as another area.

Now it showed up as the first item in the whole list above all the UT stuff and all that jazz.

Should be ok? Or did I do something wrong.

I will only every be adding simple small airports here and there for local areas I fly in.

OK, everything you did so far sounds OK. You now have a "generic" folder you added for "AFCADs" that were designed for DEFAULT FSX airports. BUT, I would change a couple things:

1. DELETE your "My FSX Scenery" folder from your Scenery Library.

2. Create a NEW folder UNDER your "My FSX Scenery" folder on your hard drive . Name it something more "descriptive" of what you are really going to be putting in it...."AFCADs". Call it something like "AFCADs for Default FSX Airports". Make a "scenery" sub-folder under it. Put your airport BGL file that you downloaded in THAT sub-folder (then DELETE the entire sub-folder from you "My FSX Scenery" folder). Then put ONLY "AFCAD" type files for DEFAULT FSX airports in your new folder (in the "scenery" subfolder) in the future. You DON'T want to be putting anything else in this folder, like a "complete airport package" (as described in my tutorials), or any other "scenery" addon. If you do, you would only be creating another "Addon Scenery" folder like the one in FSX already. The only thing you want to ever add to this folder in the future are "AFCADs" that were designed for DEFAULT FSX airports. And they should ONLY be an "AFCAD" that does NOT contain any entries that require a "Texture" subfolder (or any other subfolder). EDIT: Your "My FSX Scenery" folder should have NO "scenery" or "texture" folders under it. You are going to create sub-folders under it ONLY for OTHER addons, then add THOSE folders to the Scenery Library in the future. You will NEVER be adding the entire "My FSX Scenery" folder to the Scenery Library...only folders you create UNDER it in the future that will contain their OWN "scenery" and (maybe) "texture" folders.

3. After renaming your new "AFCAD" folder as in #2 above, RE-ADD it back to your FSX Scenery Library. Give it a "Scenery Area Title" name that lets you know EXACTLY what it is when you look at the Scenery Library List. I try to make my folder names and Scnenery Area Title names as close to the same as possible, so you could actually use the same name if you wanted. Bottom line is when you look at your Scenery Library list in the future, you want to know that this entry contains "AFCADs for Default FSX Airports" ONLY, and NOTHING else.

4. UNLESS you have another addon, like My Traffic that ALSO includes "AFCADs" for default FSX airports, you should move your new ""AFCADs for Default FSX Airports" (or whatever you called it) entry down the Scenery Library list until it is JUST ABOVE the default "Addon Scenery" entry in the Scenery Library. If you have something like My Traffic that ALREADY added a bunch of upgraded default FSX "AFCADs" to the Scenery Library, move your new entry to JUST ABOVE that addon (like just above the My Traffic addon).

Now you can keep downloading more "AFCADs" designed for FSX DEFAULT airports, and just place the BGL file for them in your new folder (make sure you place them in the sub-folder "scenery"). Again...keep in mind...this folder is ONLY for "AFCADs" that would be a SINGLE BGL file. If it has MULTIPLE BGL files, and\or TEXTURES that come with the AFCAD, you need to create a SEPARATE folder for that "airport package", or you will never know in the future which files go with what anymore (and you will avoid possible scenery conflicts with other "scenery" BGL files for the same airport).
-------------------------------------------

As for the location of the airport: You probably can't change that. The AFCAD you downloaded tells FSX where to place the airport in FSX. What it looks like is happening is this:

1. The DEFAULT FSX airport location is wrong.

2. The developer of the AFCAD you downloaded opened up the DEFAULT airport for FSX, then made some minor "enhancements" to it, then saved it, then uploaded the file. They did NOT change the location of the default airport, so the airport will STILL be in the wrong location in FSX.

The only way to fix this is to try and find another AFCAD where the designer changed the location to be more accurate in FSX, or for you to do it yourself using one of the "AFCAD" design tools available, like ADE, AFX, etc. That is a whole new learning curve though, once you get one of those programs.

OK, everything you did so far sounds OK. You now have a "generic" folder you added for "AFCADs" that were designed for DEFAULT FSX airports. BUT, I would change a couple things:

1. DELETE your "My FSX Scenery" folder from your Scenery Library.

2. Create a NEW folder UNDER your "My FSX Scenery" folder on your hard drive . Name it something more "descriptive" of what you are really going to be putting in it...."AFCADs". Call it something like "AFCADs for Default FSX Airports". Make a "scenery" sub-folder under it. Put your airport BGL file that you downloaded in THAT sub-folder (then DELETE the entire sub-folder from you "My FSX Scenery" folder). Then put ONLY "AFCAD" type files for DEFAULT FSX airports in your new folder (in the "scenery" subfolder) in the future. You DON'T want to be putting anything else in this folder, like a "complete airport package" (as described in my tutorials), or any other "scenery" addon. If you do, you would only be creating another "Addon Scenery" folder like the one in FSX already. The only thing you want to ever add to this folder in the future are "AFCADs" that were designed for DEFAULT FSX airports. And they should ONLY be an "AFCAD" that does NOT contain any entries that require a "Texture" subfolder (or any other subfolder). EDIT: Your "My FSX Scenery" folder should have NO "scenery" or "texture" folders under it. You are going to create sub-folders under it ONLY for OTHER addons, then add THOSE folders to the Scenery Library in the future. You will NEVER be adding the entire "My FSX Scenery" folder to the Scenery Library...only folders you create UNDER it in the future that will contain their OWN "scenery" and (maybe) "texture" folders.

3. After renaming your new "AFCAD" folder as in #2 above, RE-ADD it back to your FSX Scenery Library. Give it a "Scenery Area Title" name that lets you know EXACTLY what it is when you look at the Scenery Library List. I try to make my folder names and Scnenery Area Title names as close to the same as possible, so you could actually use the same name if you wanted. Bottom line is when you look at your Scenery Library list in the future, you want to know that this entry contains "AFCADs for Default FSX Airports" ONLY, and NOTHING else.

4. UNLESS you have another addon, like My Traffic that ALSO includes "AFCADs" for default FSX airports, you should move your new ""AFCADs for Default FSX Airports" (or whatever you called it) entry down the Scenery Library list until it is JUST ABOVE the default "Addon Scenery" entry in the Scenery Library. If you have something like My Traffic that ALREADY added a bunch of upgraded default FSX "AFCADs" to the Scenery Library, move your new entry to JUST ABOVE that addon (like just above the My Traffic addon).

Now you can keep downloading more "AFCADs" designed for FSX DEFAULT airports, and just place the BGL file for them in your new folder (make sure you place them in the sub-folder "scenery"). Again...keep in mind...this folder is ONLY for "AFCADs" that would be a SINGLE BGL file. If it has MULTIPLE BGL files, and\or TEXTURES that come with the AFCAD, you need to create a SEPARATE folder for that "airport package", or you will never know in the future which files go with what anymore (and you will avoid possible scenery conflicts with other "scenery" BGL files for the same airport).
-------------------------------------------

As for the location of the airport: You probably can't change that. The AFCAD you downloaded tells FSX where to place the airport in FSX. What it looks like is happening is this:

1. The DEFAULT FSX airport location is wrong.

2. The developer of the AFCAD you downloaded opened up the DEFAULT airport for FSX, then made some minor "enhancements" to it, then saved it, then uploaded the file. They did NOT change the location of the default airport, so the airport will STILL be in the wrong location in FSX.

The only way to fix this is to try and find another AFCAD where the designer changed the location to be more accurate in FSX, or for you to do it yourself using one of the "AFCAD" design tools available, like ADE, AFX, etc. That is a whole new learning curve though, once you get one of those programs.

Yell if anything above is unclear.

Rick

Nope... crystal. Thanks.

Wierd thing is that I added this airport when I had just a default FSX install with no add ons yet and I copied the file into the default "add on scenery" folder inside of FSX per the authors directions and I was thrilled that it not only looked cool now but was on the right side of the highway.

I only know this because before copying the BGL file in there like I described I knew it was wrong based on Google Earth and then after I copied the file in there I was suprised that it was relocated. I never expected that.

Just seems that now that I have Ground Environment Extreme Enhanced and Utimate Terrain X Canada installed that the airport does not move to the correct location like I THINK I remember it doing for the default FSX install by simply copying that BGL file in there.

Ahhhh! UTX may have moved the road on you, and placed the ROAD in it's proper location. UTX corrects the location of roads, shorelines, lakes, etc...many of which are also in "wrong" locations in FSX. And landclass may have moved any reference to a local "town" also. UTX makes the LOCATION of many things in FSX much more accurate...but it doesn't move AIRPORTS.

So, if the road was wrong in default FSX, and the BGL moved the default airport location to the "other side of the road", the airport would then be in the "right location" relative to the "wrong" road...in a purely default FSX install. Install UTX, and now the road is in the right location, but the airport isn't anymore.

The above doesn't happen very often, but it sounds like that may be what is happening to you. You may need to search for an "AFCAD" designed to move the airport for FSX with UTX Canada installed. Maybe someone would make a quick one for you.

Ahhhh! UTX may have moved the road on you, and placed the ROAD in it's proper location. UTX corrects the location of roads, shorelines, lakes, etc...many of which are also in "wrong" locations in FSX. And landclass may have moved any reference to a local "town" also. UTX makes the LOCATION of many things in FSX much more accurate...but it doesn't move AIRPORTS.

So, if the road was wrong in default FSX, and the BGL moved the default airport location to the "other side of the road", the airport would then be in the "right location" relative to the "wrong" road...in a purely default FSX install. Install UTX, and now the road is in the right location, but the airport isn't anymore.

The above doesn't happen very often, but it sounds like that may be what is happening to you. You may need to search for an "AFCAD" designed to move the airport for FSX with UTX Canada installed. Maybe someone would make a quick one for you.

I just did a comprehensive search on the 'net to see if there might be a Banff scenery update anywhere that would solve your issue. Came up empty.

Here's a suggestion, though. Go to the Flight1 UTX Canada forum and post a request there. In all my years of using Flight1 UTX products, they have been very responsive to helping fix other "airport location" problems relating to the use of UTX. There aren't many of them that come up, but it does happen sometimes.

I'd post a message there explaining what is happening with Banff when using UTX Canada, and ask politely if anyone in the forums who knows how to use an airport design program like AFX, ADE, etc, might be willing to make a quick AFCAD for you that relocates the airport to match UTX Canada. There are probably a few folks that would be willing to do it. It *should* only involve making an exclusion area for the default airport and moving the airport to a new location, but don't quote me on that. I'm no scenery designer!

I just did a comprehensive search on the 'net to see if there might be a Banff scenery update anywhere that would solve your issue. Came up empty.

Here's a suggestion, though. Go to the Flight1 UTX Canada forum and post a request there. In all my years of using Flight1 UTX products, they have been very responsive to helping fix other "airport location" problems relating to the use of UTX. There aren't many of them that come up, but it does happen sometimes.

I'd post a message there explaining what is happening with Banff when using UTX Canada, and ask politely if anyone in the forums who knows how to use an airport design program like AFX, ADE, etc, might be willing to make a quick AFCAD for you that relocates the airport to match UTX Canada. There are probably a few folks that would be willing to do it. It *should* only involve making an exclusion area for the default airport and moving the airport to a new location, but don't quote me on that. I'm no scenery designer!